Sydney + Beach holidays | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/sydney+beach
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Home and a bay: the hidden gems near Byron Bay, Australiahttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/nov/09/byron-bay-australia-beach-holiday
Byron Bay was once Australia's alternative surfie utopia, but to find the same vibe now you need to leave the crowds behind and head for the hinterland<br /><br /><strong>• <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2012/nov/09/australia-road-trips-gourmet-breaks ">More Australian escapes: road trips, days trips and gourmet breaks</a></strong><p>In 2010, I made a dream come true: I moved to Byron Bay, New South Wales – back to my home country of Australia. After a decade living in New York City, it was blissful. The beautiful northern beach town perches on the easternmost tip of Australia. Its sunsets, surf, sand, sunrises and people-watching are world-class. Whenever the existential rush of Manhattan used to overwhelm me, I plotted my escape there. I took American friends to show them the ultimate in Australian beauty and lifestyle. But when I moved there, I&nbsp;discovered that Byron Bay is not the place to holiday in Australia.</p><p>When I was a kid, rainy days and Byron went together. With its hippies and peeling shopfronts draped in windchimes, the town became a haven away from the camping and less-sheltered beaches at Broken Head, where my family and I set up tents and stoves most Christmases after driving for a whole day north from suburban our home in suburban Canberra. Byron and Broken are a seven-minute drive apart on a windy, rainforest-lined coast road. Byron, then was a dishevelled main street with a Mexican takeaway, a few stellar restaurants, beautiful girls wearing liberatingly oversized dresses and men with dreadlocks. Sometimes, Byron Bay was a room, usually at the <strong>Wollongbar Motel</strong> (+61 2 6685 8200, <a href="http://www.wollongbar.com/" title="">wollongbar.com</a>, singles from &pound;90, doubles &pound;97).</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/nov/09/byron-bay-australia-beach-holiday">Continue reading...</a>AustraliaBeach holidaysSurfingAdventure travelAustralasiaTravelSydneyHotelsFri, 09 Nov 2012 22:45:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/nov/09/byron-bay-australia-beach-holidayGetty Images/Lonely Planet ImagesSurf and turf … explore the area around Byron Bay, Australia. Click on the magnifying glass icon to see a map showing Byron Bay. Photograph: Getty Images/Lonely Planet ImagesGetty Images/Lonely Planet ImagesSurf and turf … explore the area around Byron Bay, Australia. Photograph: Getty Images/Lonely Planet ImagesEmma Pearse2012-11-09T22:45:03ZSydney's latest hostel has fabulous harbour viewshttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/dec/12/sydney-hostel-harbour-views-australia
Sydney's new YHA has budget rooms with harbour views in the historic Rocks district – and it comes with its very own archaeological dig<p>The meaning of life, as Australian playwright David Williamson once wrote, is never debated in Sydney because we all know what it is: &quot;Getting yourself a water frontage.&quot; Yet one of the quirks of the real estate-obsessed city is that some of the best views of the Opera House and Sydney harbour belong to the helplessly poor. Flanking the Harbour Bridge, among the billionaires' eyries and five-star hotels, are public housing towers with the best views money cannot buy. At their feet remain ancient terrace houses for welfare recipients.</p><p>And now, adding to this robust blend, is a spanking new YHA, which opened its doors just weeks ago, close to the <a href="http://sydney.park.hyatt.com" title="Park Hyatt">Park Hyatt</a>, the city's priciest hotel. For minimal cost, guests can rub their eyes in the morning to a view of the harbour, the Opera House, the Bridge, and Fort Denison. They can have a barbecue on the rooftop and play a part (albeit briefly) in the quest for which, Williamson wrote, locals &quot;devote a lifetime&quot;. Like the housing department's clients, hostel guests can be very poor and feel rich.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/dec/12/sydney-hostel-harbour-views-australia">Continue reading...</a>SydneyBudget travelHostelsTravelHotelsAustralasiaGap year travelArchaeologyBeach holidaysAustraliaBackpackingSat, 12 Dec 2009 00:06:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/dec/12/sydney-hostel-harbour-views-australiaPRTop spot ... barbecues are held on the hostel rooftop, with views of Sydney harbourPRTop spot ... barbecues are held on the hostel rooftop, with views of Sydney harbourMalcolm Knox2009-12-12T00:06:04Z10 top beaches for partyinghttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/may/24/beach.sydney
<p>Even now, after the best part of a decade living in Bondi, it is still the dawn I love. By 9am, the beach will be deserted again, but at first light it will be busy, the last revellers of the night before scattered amid the many who come here, day in, day out, to surf or swim or walk.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/may/24/beach.sydney">Continue reading...</a>Beach holidaysSydneySpainNetherlandsItalyLatviaPortugalNew YorkBrazilColombiaUnited KingdomTravelFri, 23 May 2008 23:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/may/24/beach.sydneyGettyAustralian original ... Bondi beach. Photograph: GettyGettyBondi beach, Australia. Photograph: GettyJames Bradley and Benji Lanyado2008-05-23T23:01:00Z